The first generation Subaru Forester is not a proper station wagon, but it's also comfortably far from being the suburban family hauler the Forester has become in recent years. That's why it's still okay to pretend yours is an STI.

Even if that's not necessarily true despite all those obligatory JDM bits, swapping a 1998 car's old single overhead cam engine for a 2002 WRX turbo is definitely the right way to go forward. Faster, that is.

And yes, Subaru might have started the avalanche of crossovers that took over the streets of the United States, but the original car itself had no such intentions. It's just a taller wagon that also likes to get dirty for the sheer fun of it.